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Help planning Como, Switzerland, Salzburg, Vienna..please!

Hi All
Wife and I planning to leave Newark 9/7/17 and arrive back in Newark 9/15/17. I am looking for suggestions please. We would like to fly into Milan,take the train the Como spend 2- 3 nights in Como,then rent a car and head for Salzburg,spending one night somewhere between Como and Salzburg possibly in Switzerland after a days scenic ride.Then continue on by car to Salzburg spend the night (do the Sound of Music tour) and continue by car or train ti Vienna for 2 nights.Logistically does this make sense and am hoping for suggestions to fill in the gaps.Thank you!

Posted by
7595 posts

I tried to book a car rental originally in Spain and dropping it in Portugal and the drop charge was huge.

Be careful about renting a car in one country and dropping in another.

The rail connections should be no problem.

Posted by
8889 posts

I second that warning about one-way car hire between countries having a mega surcharge.

Do you mean Como (the town), or somewhere else on Lake Como? Most people stay somewhere else on the lake, which may not have a car hire place.

For driving route use: https://www.viamichelin.com/ it gives distances, times and costs.

Italian Autostrada have tolls. Swiss and Austrian Autobahns require you to buy a toll sticker called a Vignette before you drive on them.

The quickest route from Como to Salzburg involves going east from Como along the Italian plains, then north over the Brenner pass. Going via Switzerland is a slower route.

Posted by
60 posts

Thank You Chris.I see this trans country rental may pose a problem.

Posted by
7175 posts

You are unfortunately restricted timewise, but can still achieve an initial level of appreciation.

Take the trains definitely, and search out direct services where you can. Examples of timings....

Sep 7
United Airlines
Newark to Milan

Sep 8
Arrive Milan
Train to Como (2 nights)

Sep 9
Lake Como

Sep 10
Train to Luzern (1 night)
EC 158
Dep 11:03 COMO S.GIOVANNI (Italy)
Arr 13:41 LUZERN (Switzerland)

Sep 11
Train to Salzburg (2 nights)
TRN 2658
Dep 15:35 LUZERN (Switzerland)
Arr 16:25 ZUERICH HB (Switzerland)
RJ 361
Dep 16:40 ZUERICH HB (Switzerland)
Arr 22:06 SALZBURG HBF (Austria)

Sep 12
Salzburg

Sep 13
Train to Vienna (2 nights)
RJ 161
Dep 12:08 SALZBURG HBF (Austria)
Arr 14:30 WIEN HBF (Austria)

Sep 14
Vienna

Sep 15
Austrian Airlines (United codeshare)
Vienna to Newark

Posted by
32173 posts

If I'm reading correctly, you only have a very short seven days to visit four somewhat distant locations in Europe. That's an average of about 1.75 days, which no allowances for travel times. While it might be feasible, I doubt that it would be an enjoyable trip.

Keep in mind that if you depart Newark on 7 Sept., you may not arrive until the 8th. The final day of 15 Sept. will be required for the flight home.

Using a rental car is not going to be the easiest or quickest method. A few points to keep in mind.....

It's important to note that for driving in Italy, each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office). Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot!

You may also want to have a look at some of the other posts here concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities which may be almost saturated with automated ZTL cameras. EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket, which you won't know about until several months after you return home! This website provides more information - http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm

If you rent the car in Italy and drive into Austria and/or Switzerland, you'll also have to obtain the mandatory Highway Tax Vignettes for those countries, or face hefty fines with will be collected on the spot!

Using well planned rail trips will be much easier, especially on routes which have high speed trains. I'm sure the group here could help you work out the details.

It would help to know whether you plan on staying in the town of Como, or in another town on the lake such as Varenna, which is a big favourite with many here on the forum.

Unless I'm missing something here, some pruning will be necessary on your proposed Itinerary.

EDIT - I just noticed David's suggestion and that would work, but still too "busy", IMO.

Posted by
60 posts

Hi Ken
Thx for your reply.Yes This so far has been a "rough sketch" which I am working on fine tuning a bit.The forum has been very helpful in so far as I know renting a car is out. As far as Como is concerned we are just looking to spend 2-3 nights in the lake region in general and are open to suggestions as to what towns to stay in as long as the scenery is nice and we have a relaxed time. We traveled to Greece last summer and except fro Athens found our lodgings on Trip Advisor under the "Specialty Lodgings" which allowed us to find small family run places that averaged 20 rooms and will try to do the same on this trip. We are open and would be grateful for any suggestions in lodging area. We have a friend in Vienna that ultimately we will see and will spend 2 nights in a hotel or similar lodging there. I wanted to make the trip a little more than about Vienna and am trying to round it out by starting in the lake region of Italy and moving on from there and another must for the wife since we are in the area is to do the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg.Thats basically it.Lake region ,Salzburg,Vienna.Given the time frame I am just looking to fill in the blanks with some nice scenery and a couple of tours to round the trip out.All suggestions are helpful.Thanks.

Posted by
32173 posts

425,

There are numerous Itinerary possibilities, and this is one suggestion that may work for you.....

  • 9/7 - D1 / N - Depart Newark
  • 9/8 - D2 / N1 - Arrive Milan / MXP / take Malpensa Express to Milano Centrale and then Regionale to Varenna-Esino station. DON'T forget to validate tickets prior to boarding or you'll risk hefty fines!
  • 9/9 - D3 / N2 - Varenna, touring (take Ferry across to Bellagio, about 20 minutes each way?).
  • 9/10 - D4 / N1 - Train to Salzburg. This is going to be a long day, but IMO that's preferable to making a stop for one night in an intermediate location, as you just don't have the time. One of the easiest trips will be a departure from Varenna at 07:37, arriving Salzburg at 17:02 (time 9H:25, 3 changes in Milan, Verona and Innsbruck). Although Salzburg is very walkable, when you arrive in Salzburg, take a Taxi to your hotel.
  • 9/11 - D5 / N2 - Salzburg, touring (Sound of Music tour?)
  • 9/12 - D6 / N3 - Salzburg, touring
  • 9/13 - D7 / N1 - Train Salzburg to Vienna (use Austrian Rail or Westbahn - trip is about 2.5 to 3 hours). If you leave right after breakfast, this will provide about 1.5 days in Vienna. If you want more time there, drop one night in Salzburg and add to Vienna.
  • 9/14 - D8 / N2 - Vienna
  • 9/15 - D9 / N - Flight home (you can take the CAT train to the airport or a Taxi)

One note about my abbreviations..... D5 / N2 = Day 5, Night 2. This provides a good indication of how many nights you'll need to book a hotel in each place. It's often easier to calculate on the basis of nights rather than days.

You can check rail schedules in Italy at Trenitalia and for most of Europe at Bahn.de (German rail website).

Good luck with your planning!

Posted by
32173 posts

425,

You're very welcome! Hope you're making progress in your Itinerary plans.

Posted by
60 posts

Thank you all very much!

I've take the 1st step in making this trip a reality buy booking the flights mentioned here.Ken I am very appreciative of you taking the time to lay out a time line for me for the trip.Now I need to get into the details.I'll take any suggestions on what to do during this trip.Especially while in Como and Salzburg ,although I know one of the things we will be doing for sure is the Sound of Music tour.Any other suggestions would be well apprecaited.Thanks

Don